Intrigue
by DayoNight7
Summary: After a nasty heartbreak, Sakura Haruno leaves to study medicine under Tsunade. Five years and a fresh medical degree later, she returns home a new woman, wanting no part in romance and ready to explore life and all that comes with it. Well, sometimes in life, things come to you unexpectedly. But doesn't that make it all the more interesting? Modern AU. SasuSaku and NaruSaku.
1. Chapter 1

Growing up, life for Sakura Haruno had never been particularly exciting.

Really though. She grew up in a good home, with two great parents who doted on her. She went to an average school, and did really well. Actually, better than well. More like extraordinary, and excelled in almost everything she did. That probably was the highlight of her life, if she had to shamefully admit that to herself. She had friends, great friends in fact. Ino Yamanaka was her best friend to the end, no doubt about that. And then there was Hinata, and TenTen, and Lee, and Kiba, and Shikamaru, and all the other people in her class. Sakura was a very friendly child indeed, and made friends very easily.

However, there was her two most absolute best friends in the whole wide world: Naruto Uzumaki, and Sasuke Uchiha.

Their parents were best friends with her parents and so even as a baby, toddling around in nothing but a diaper, Sakura grew to know the two boys. It was over playdates and soggy cookies that an unbreakable friendship was formed, and Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke were attached at the hip ever since. They did everything together, the three musketeers, from walking to riding bikes to cheating on tests (well, more like Naruto cheating off of her and Sasuke) to getting their driving licences to graduating high school. They even planned on graduating college together, and all three sets of parents were hellbent on Sakura marrying either Naruto or Sasuke.

But, alas, how some things work out in life, you don't get what you exactly planned on. Like, let's say during your sophomore year of college, confessing your feelings to your best friend who then disses you in the most embarrassing way possible leaving you emotionally crushed, so much so that when you get offered a chance to study under _the_ Tsunade Senji, you decide to take a five year scholarship across the country to become a badass female doctor who doesn't need no man?

Yeah. Sometimes things work out in ways you don't expect them to. And sometimes, it's for the better. That's what Sakura Haruno tells herself at least.

So she decided to take those five years in stride. No longer would she be the shy, emotion-driven girl she once was. No, she left that behind her when she stepped on that plane to Wave. And while she was gone, not only did she become the youngest doctor ever to earn their white coat, but she also grew in a few different areas besides her intelligence. Her once short, choppy pink locks grew out into silky loose waves, just a few inches above her buttocks. Her plank-like chest grew into sizeable mounds, still not as impressive as her best friend, but enough for a handful and some change (which she silently thanked Kami for everyday.) Her lips grew into a pouty smirk, and the five years she did of self-defense kickboxing showed in her lean muscles and firm behind. The light tan she had acquired from frequenting Wave's beaches glowed on her skin. Her green eyes now sparkled with a certain mischief and wisdom, and as she emerged from her gate at the airport, pushing her sunglasses up to her hair, those green eyes scanned the masses for a certain pair of heads.

Sakura Haruno was a new person, refreshed with a heart mended; a person she loved being.

She just couldn't wait to share that with everyone.

"Sakura!" a shrill woman's voice screamed over the heads of the other people, and Sakura's grin stretched from cheek to cheek. She spotted her mother and father wading through the crowd, and when they spotted her bright pink hair, her mother let out a cry and began sprinting towards her.

"Mom!" Sakura laughed, a joyful tinkling sound as she tossed her carry-on bag down to run up and embrace her mother. She didn't even cringe as the older woman squeezed the life out of her.

"Oh! My baby!" her mother crooned, still in the embrace as she stroked her daughter's now long hair lovingly. "My baby is home!"

"Mebuki, leave that damn kid alone." Her father gruffed in good-nature, bending over to pick up her bag. He groaned on his way up, holding his lower back.

Sakura let go of her mother despite the blonde's protests and ran up and hugged her father tightly. He hooked one arm around her neck, pulling her in, and she breathed in the fresh scent of his after shave.

"Welcome home, kid." he said, kissing the crown of her head before letting her go. "You look good."

"Thanks, daddy." Sakura smiled softly. "And you look good too. For an old man at least."

"An old man that can still kick any boy's ass who dares to look at you the wrong way." he said loudly, and was pointedly looking over her shoulder.

Confused, Sakura tilted her head and looked behind her, seeing a group of panicking teenage boys scrambling to get away from whatever her father was doing behind her. The pink haired woman threw her head back and laughed good-naturedly, shaking her head as she turned back to her parents.

"Dad, you really are too much."

"Why did you have to go and get more beautiful while you were gone?" he joked, rustling her hair.

"Really though, honey! What is in the water in Waves? You leave looking like a waif, and come back like this!" her mother whined, tugging at her hair.

"Looking like what?" Sakura mumbled, insulted, as she tugged at her shirt in self-consciousness.

"Oh, stop it for the love of Kami, Mebuki! She's home two minutes and you're already smothering her." her father rolled his eyes, and rested a hand on her mother's back. "Come on. Let's help Sakura get her things from baggage claim, and let's get her home."

Thankful for her father's intervention, she mouthed a "Thank You" in which he returned with a wink. Turning back to her mother, she sighed dramatically. "Man, home sounds good. I need a hot shower and to shave my man legs, and then food and my own bed sounds like heaven. I can almost hear it calling me now!"

"Well, then let's get you settled, honey." her mother agreed, patting her hand lovingly.

After getting her things into the car and the hour long trip back home in which her mother chatted her ear off mercilessly, Sakura got her shower and shave, and was walking downstairs to dinner. Her phone had been dead half the plane ride, and she was just able to plug it into the wall to charge, figuring it would juice up while she ate dinner. She just threw on her PJs for the night, a light blue shirt that was three sizes too big for her and a pair of spandex shorts, and had her long hair wrapped up in a fluffy white towel. Walking into the kitchen, she found her father at the table, looking annoyed as her mother flitted about with a phone glued to her ear. Taking a seat next to her father, Sakura folded her legs under her and raised a pink brow.

"Who's mom talking to?" she asked curiously, eyeing the fish in the center of the table with thinly veiled interest.

"Who knows at this point. She's about called every damn person in the damn phone book, talking about how you're back, as if the whole damn country needed to know." he grouched, folding his arms and almost pouting.

Her father always got grouchy when he was hungry, and even to this day he hated waiting to eat his food. If he was this annoyed, then her mother had been on the phone for a minute, and he had been ready to eat about twenty minutes ago. Sakura laughed, shaking her head and snagging a dumpling, depositing it on her father's plate before grabbing one for herself. He grinned, stuffing it in his mouth whole, and had just swallowed when his wife busted through the paper sliding door.

"Sorry! Sorry." her mother apologized, crossing her legs and sitting down in her usual spot. "Everybody eat up!" She leaned over and gave her husband a quick apology kiss, before spooning different foods onto his plate. When she got to the dumplings, she gave him a sour look. "Now I know damn well I have 15 dumplings on this plate, and now there are 13. Kizashi, you impatient pig!"

Her father opened his mouth to rebuttal, but not wanting to hear any of it, Sakura rolled her eyes and stabbed a dumpling with her chopsticks while the plate was still in her mother's hand, stuffing it in her mouth whole and making sure to talk with her mouth full when she said, "I'm the impatient pig, mom! Are you trying to starve me?!"

"Sakura Haruno, you ungracious child. How dare you-"

"Be happy she's home, Mebuki. We both know you've missed this." Her father interrupted, kissing her on the cheek before stealing a dumpling. Giving up, her mother sighed and set the plate down. Once all the food had been dished out, her father looked over to her and swallowed. "So, how did Tsunade-Sama take the news of you leaving?"

Sakura swallowed a bite of rice, taking a sip of tea before answering. "She was okay. Actually, more than okay, because she's moving here to work with me."

"What?!" her mother choked. "Tsunade-Sama here? In Konoha? But why?"

"Well," Sakura began, spearing a piece of fish. "There's a new hospital and research center opening up in downtown Konoha. Lady Tsunade was invited to come to be the director. Since she still wanted to train me throughout my residency, she said it was the perfect opportunity." Stuffing the fish in her mouth, the pink haired woman shrugged. "Besides, there wasn't anything left in Wave for her anyways, I suppose."  
"Well, that's nice, dear." her mother said warmly. "Will you be working at this hospital when it opens?"

"Yes, I'll be there." she said. "It's set to open in a week or two. Until then I was planning on getting settled and visiting a few friends. I saved up enough money from working in a few clinics back in Wave. It should be enough to last me until the hospital opens. But I was hoping to stay here until it does. If that's okay with-"

"Sakura Haruno, don't you dare finish that sentence. You know not to ask." her father said tersely, shaking his head. "You could stay here the rest of your life."

"Thanks, guys." Sakura bowed her head, taking in her parents unspoken affection. "Although I was going to move out and get my own place once I get a few steady paychecks from the hospital."

"Moving out on your own?!" her mother gasped. "A young woman of your age? Unmarried? Is there no girl dorms for you?"

"No, mom. I'm graduated now. Technically I'm a student still, but technically I'm not just the same. I have to get my own place soon." Sakura said slowly, trying not to cringe at the shrillness of her mother's sharp inhale.

"Sakura, no! That's just so, so-"

"It's a new time, Mebuki. Sakura is going to be fine. Just let it go."

There was a silence at the table for a few beats, before the older woman sighed. "Okay." Her mother patted her hand. "We're very proud of the woman you've become."

"Very proud." her dad echoed.

The rest of dinner was ate in small pleasantries, and after having a shower and a nice meal, Sakura flopped onto her bed with her belly full and her eyes heavy. Jet lag hit her all at once, and she found that her limbs felt like they were made of lead. Before she lifted her down comforter to slide under the cover, her once dead phone beeped to life, the screen illuminating the space around her. Scooting to her edge, Sakura picked her phone up, having completely forgotten all about it, and saw she had an inbox full of unread messages. Giggling, she sat up and began to filter through them.

(~)

4 Messages from Pig

 _ **Forehead! I know you're still on the plan, but give me a text when you land! xoxo**_ _4:38pm_

 _ **Uhm, hello?**_ _6:23pm_

 _ **Sakura Haruno stop ignoring me!**_ _7:37pm_

 _ **At least let me know you're alive. :(**_ _8:45pm_

1 Message to Pig

 _ **Yes, I'm home. And yes, I'm alive. Now let me sleep, Pig.**_ _9:02pm_

1 Message from Kiba

 _ **Sakura! Heard you're coming back today! Hope to see you soon.**_ _5:34pm_

1 Message from Hinata

 _ **I hope you made it safely home! Ino told me you were coming back today. I'll see you soon!**_ _3:17pm_

1 Message to Hinata

 _ **I'm home! I'll call you tomorrow about it!**_ _9:05pm_

1 Message from Bushy Brows

 _ **YOSH! SAKURA, I SEE YOU HAVE DECIDED TO COME BACK TO KONOHA. I BET YOUR BEAUTY IS EVER MORE WONDROUS SINCE I LAST SEEN YOU!**_ _6:57pm_

1 Message to Bushy Brows

 _ **Lee, for the love of god take your caps lock off. Please.**_ _9:06pm_

2 Messages from TenTen

 _ **Hey gurl! Heard from your mom you're back.**_ _4:28pm_

 _ **She said something about you doing kickboxing now? We should totally meet up and spare sometime!**_ _4:29pm_

1 Message from Naruto

 _ **Hey Sakura-Chan! Your mom told my mom, who told me that you're back! I can't wait to see you. It's been too long! I bet you're busy right now, but give me a call when you can. :)**_ _3:51pm_

1 Message to Naruto

 _ **Naruto! Oh my Kami, yes! I'll call you tomorrow first thing!**_ _9:09pm_

1 Message from Unknown

 _ **Welcome Home.**_ _7:46pm_

1 Message to Unknown

 _ **I'm sorry, who is this?**_ _9:11pm_

1 Message from Pig

 _ **You're a bitch.**_ _9:14pm_

1 Message to Pig

 _ **At least that hasn't changed about me.**_ _9:14pm_

1 Message from Naruto

 _ **Can't wait to hear your voice again!**_ _9:15pm_

1 Message to Naruto

 _ **That sounded kind of romantic. Longing for me are you, Naruto?**_ _9:15pm_

1 Message from Pig

 _ **Kami, I've missed you, Ugly. :(**_ _9:20pm_

1 Message to Pig

 _ **I've missed you too, Fatty. :(**_ _9:21pm_

1 Message from Naruto

 _ **Yes.**_ _9:21pm_

(~)

Sakura's face lit up bright red as blood rushed up her neck to her cheeks. What the hell?! Naruto said...what? Re-Reading the text and not really knowing what to say, Sakura decided to sit her phone down and try to re-read through them tomorrow when she had less jet lag fog clouding her mind. Maybe she's just reading too much into Naruto's message. She'll get back to everyone else tomorrow, but for now, all she really wanted to do was sleep.

Plugging her phone back in, she snuggled under her comforter and was almost out when her phone chimed again. Debating whether or not to check it, she decided she better go ahead and do it to make sure it wasn't important (or Naruto mad at her for not replying). Picking up her phone, she blinked her bleary eyes several times to refocus. _1 Message from Unknown._ Curious, Sakura entered her passcode and entered her messages.

(~)

1 Message from Unknown

 _ **Sasuke Uchiha.**_ _9:43pm_

(~)

So much for sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

"Hold up, hold up, hold up! _What?!_ " Ino shrieked, her purple manicured nails almost slicing through the coffee cup she held as she clenched her hand around it in distress. "He did _what_?"

"Shhhh! You idiot." Sakura hissed, hunching down and placing a finger to her lips, her eyes darting around the small cafe for anyone looking at them. "Are you trying to cause a scene?!"

"So let me get this straight." Ino started, sitting up straight and flipping her blonde hair over her shoulder with a huff. "Sasuke the dicksnot texted you last night?"

"Ino." Sakura groaned, slumping in her chair. "Sasuke is not a dicksnot."

"Okay, okay. Sasu-gay texted you last night?"

"Ino."

"Sausage texted you-"

" _Ino_."

"Okay, okay!" said woman threw her hands up in defeat. "Fine. _Sasuke,_ just plain ol' Sasuke, texted you 'Welcome Home' last night."

"Yes." Sakura said, taking a dainty sip of her caramel macchiato, licking the cream off the top of her lip. "Sasuke texted me last night."

"So what're you going to do?" Ino asked, tilting her head to the side. "Text him back? Ignore it and avoid him forever?"

"I don't know." Sakura sighed deeply, throwing her head back against the chair. "I didn't think I'd have to cross this bridge after what happened."

"Yeah! Like, what was he expecting? Oh, heard you're in town, haven't spoken to you in five years, after I rejected you in front of the whole courtyard-"

" _Ino_."

"Sorry, sorry. Sore subject still I see." the blonde said, shrugging her shoulders. "Anyways, what are you going to do, Forehead?"

Sakura pursed her lips, tracing her red nail across the lip of her coffee cup. Sighing, she looked out the window in thought. "I guess text him back." Ino raised a brow at that, and took a drink of her coffee, eyes still trained on Sakura as if asking her to rethink her choice. "What, Ino?! I know you don't like him after what he did, I get the whole overprotective best friend thing, but Sasuke is...well he's Sasuke. And yeah, he could have let me down easier, but at the same time, confessing to him was my choice. And I can't be mad at him for not feeling the same way!" Sakura exclaimed, and Ino threw her hands up in mock defense.

"Cool down, Forehead."

"I just don't want to throw away like, a lifetime of friendship with him for something I did when I was 18 and dumb. I'm a different person now. I'm exploring my options. Finding out who I am now and who I'm going to be. Maybe Sasuke fits into that, maybe he doesn't. All I know is I'm more than okay, and I'm going to keep it that way."

The blonde haired woman was silent for a while, taking in what the other woman said. Finally, clearing her throat, Ino took a drink of coffee and smiled at her long time friend. "I'm happy for you, Sakura. Truly. And if you're wanting to give chicken-ass a chance, then I guess I won't beat on him." She paused, reconsidering her answer before adding, "Too much at least."

"Thanks, Ino. And chicken-ass?"

"Because his hair looks like the ass-end of a chicken!"

" _Ino!_ "

"My independent little baby is a baby no more." Ino laughed and raised her coffee cup in the air, smiling brightly at her friend. "To soul-searching, my dear Forehead."

Sakura giggled, raising her coffee cup and tapping it against her friend's. "To soul-searching, Pig."

As they aimlessly gossiped and chattered the whole morning away, going through another coffee, Sakura figured it was almost time to get out of there and visit a few other friends. One of those friends being giving Naruto a call, in which she was still a little weary after the text last night. Sakura just assumed it was Naruto messing with her, as per usual. But as she sat there with Ino, chewing on her bottom lip hesitantly, she slide her phone out of the back pocket of her jeans and unlocked her passcode, pulling up her messages.

(~)

1 Message from Unknown

 _ **Sasuke Uchiha.**_ _9:43pm_

1 Message to Sasuke

 _ **Thanks.**_ _10:36am_

(~)

Sakura saved the number in her phone as Sasuke, and figured what's done is done. Sighing and putting her phone back into her pocket, Sakura stood and groaned, stretching her body. Ino caught a few cafe patrons staring at her friend provocatively, unbeknownst to her pink haired companion, so the blonde gave the particularly creepy old dude the finger for her.

"Sorry, Pig. I got a few other people to see." Sakura said, throwing some money on the table and grabbing her over-the-shoulder purse.

"More important than me?!" the blonde cried, but got up anyways and paid for her tab. "I'm insulted, Forehead."

"Well, when you're gone for as long as I was, everybody and the damn dog wants to see you."

"Is that what we're calling Kiba now?"

Sakura threw her head back and laughed good-naturedly. "Ino, you are horrible."

"Well, I guess my tongue has gotten a tad bit sharper since you left. Maybe I should cool down the attitude."

"No, It's entertaining." the pink haired woman laughed.

"Well, have fun, girl. I'll text you later about maybe meeting me and the girls up for some drinks together tonight?" Ino said, tucking her purse under her arm and standing. Sakura took her best friend in for a second, analyzing her slightly more matured face.

The five years had done Ino good. Her breasts were still bigger than Sakura's, and the blonde's figure was a little more on the slender side compared to her. Her beautiful blonde hair had also grown out, and her icy blue eyes on her thinner face seemed more wise. Ino could easily be a model, and Sakura supposed that if she were into women, she would probably try to hook up with her. After Sakura left, Ino finished her degree in business, and is now running her parent's floral shop.

"Sure, Pig. That sounds nice!"

As both the women left the coffee shop, Ino walked with Sakura for a bit. Presumably until they got to the street corner where her family's shop was at. "So, who all are you going to see today?"

"I don't know yet." The pink haired girl said, smiling and waving back to an elderly woman who waved to her as they walked. "Everyone is texting me asking to meet up. I need to call Naruto."

"Oh yeah?" Ino asked, raising a brow. "You excited to see him? You're all he's been talking about for the last two days."

"Really? That's sweet. I bet he can't wait to talk my ear off." Sakura giggled, shaking her head. "I missed him. He can be so dumb, but he's so funny. And he's got a good heart. Last I heard from him he was seeing Hinata."

Ino frowned. "No, he's not anymore. They broke up about two months ago. You didn't know?"

"Oh no! Aw, what happened? Should I not bring it up?"

"No, no. He's fine, and she's fine. Hinata said that there just wasn't a spark between them. Something about how it was kind of like dating a cousin?"

"Gross."

"Yeah, right?" Ino laughed, stopping when they got to the street she needed to turn down, and Sakura stopped with her. "Hinata is dating Kiba now."

"Oh yeah? And who's Naruto dating?"

The blonde shrugged. "Who knows. I guess I don't ask about his love life too much. He hasn't brought a girl around the friends if that says anything."

"And he doesn't care about Hinata and Kiba?"

"No. It was a mutual fizzle out, I think. Anyways, I got to get to work girl, and you got people to see. See ya later, Forehead. I'll text you!" Ino yelled, walking away.

"Bye, Pig!" Sakura yelled back.

Pulling her phone out of her pocket, she entered her passcode and saw she had a few missed messages. Huh. Funny. She didn't hear it go off. Sakura scoffed and figured it was her blonde friend's loud mouth. Noticing they were all from her mother, she figured she better answer them if she wanted an ass, knowing her mother would chew it off if she didn't.

(~)

3 Messages from Mom

 _ **What do you want for dinner?**_ _10:59am_

 _ **We're having some friends over.**_ _11:00am_

 _ **You better be home tonight!**_ _11:01am_

1 Message to Mom

 _ **I don't care. Friends over? I might be going out to the bar with Ino and friends tonight.**_ _11:02 am_

1 Message from Mom

 _ **No, you are not. Be home tonight.**_ _11:04am_

(~)

Sighing whilst rolling her eyes, Sakura backed out of the messages and dialed Naruto's phone number as she began walking back home. He picked up on the third ring.

" _Sakura-Chan!"_ His cheerful voice filtered through the ear receiver. _"How are you?"_

"Hey, Naruto! What's up?" Sakura smiled despite herself. Nothing like hearing the blonde man's voice to perk her up. His natural energy was contagious, even through the phone.

" _Ah, you know. Just sitting around, waiting for you to call me."_ he said, sounding kind of breathless. Sakura decided not to ask why.

"Your life not complete without hearing my voice, I guess." she grinned, waiting for his response.

" _Damn straight."_ He laughed, it was rich and genuine and her heart kind of fluttered.

"Sorry for not calling you sooner. I went to get coffee with Ino and you know how our gossiping goes. Lost track of time."

" _Yeah, yeah. Excuses, excuses. I figured you were busy. I know you're kind of an early bird, so I knew you weren't sleeping."_

"So you know me now, huh?" Sakura asked.

" _Of course I do, Sakura-Chan. How long have we been friends?"_

"Point taken." the pink haired woman said. "However, it has been five years. Maybe my time in Waves has turned me into a night-owling party girl."

Naruto laughed again, and Sakura's grin widened. _"Yeah, right."_ He paused, as if considering something. _"What're you doing tonight?"_

"Well, I _was_ going to go to the bar with Ino and the girls." she began, stopping and leaning against a building, tucking her free arm into the one holding her phone. "But I just received word from my mother that I must be home tonight. Something about having friends over, apparently."

" _What're you up to now?"_

"Walking back home as we speak actually."

" _Really?"_

"Yes. Don't believe me?"

" _No, no. It's just funny,_ because I'm actually going for a run right now on your street."

The voice on the phone manifested. Sakura turned to her side, startled, and drank in the sight of her blonde best friend. He was much taller than she last saw him, her eyes coming to his collarbone. He slowly let the hand holding the phone to his ear drop, and he gave her a tiny wave.

Sakura and Naruto texted back and forth while she was in Waves, and they had phone calls, but she hadn't seen a picture of him and neither did he of her. She was kind of utterly shocked to see the shirtless man before her. When she had left, Naruto had been kind of lanky, but the person in front of her had lean muscles still rippling slightly from what she presumed was his morning run. She couldn't help but admire his abs and his pecs,and the slight dusting of hair leading down to his athletic shorts teasingly. Her eyes trailed up to his face, once it had belonged to a goofy kid, now it belonged to a man. Strong jawline with a slight dusting of a 5 o'clock shadow, and she finally made it to stare into his oceanic blue eyes, which were currently dancing with held back laughter.

"Well, now that you're done gawking, can we-"

"Shut up! I was not gawking, you idiot." Sakura hissed, heat creeping up to her cheeks. Swallowing hard, she turned her head to the side stubbornly. "Grow up, Naruto."

Said man laughed, hooking an arm around her neck and yanking her close. Sakura squealed, losing her balance and placing a hand on his chest to steady herself. Solid muscle under a thin layer of sweat, and the young woman made gagging noises teasingly. Her whole side vibrated as Naruto chuckled, and she squirmed to try to get away. The blonde haired man gave her a quick kiss to the crown of her head before letting her go. Sakura's stomach did a flip.

"Good to have you back, Sakura-Chan." Naruto smiled warmly at her.

Without thinking, Sakura lifted the hem of her shirt to wipe the sweat from her face. "Nasty, Naruto! I'm going to need a shower now! You got your sweat all over me, you animal!" When she turned back to him, he was staring at her intently. "What?"

"Nothing." Naruto said, shaking his head. "What're you doing right now?"

"Walking back home, why?"

"Well, I was kind of hoping you'd maybe walk with me. Or go grab lunch or something."

"With you looking like that?" Sakura asked, looking him up and down.

"What?" the blonde said, looking down at himself. "I go out like this all the time. It's comfy."

"It's also borderline public nudity."  
"Fine." he said, crossing his arms. "Then let's head back to my place, it's just a few streets down. I'll change, and then I'll buy you lunch."

Sakura bit her lip, rubbing her arm as she stood looking in the direction of her house. "I don't know. I would love to, but mom-zilla might need my help cleaning and cooking for tonight."

"Aw, come on Sakura-Chan. It won't take too long, and we haven't seen each other in forever. Tell her you're with me, and she'll understand. You'll be back in plenty enough time to help set up." He turned his puppy dog eyes on her, and she rolled hers in return. "Please?"

"Okay, beg me why don't you." Sakura smirked, and shrugged. "Why not. Mom should understand. Lead the way, sir."

"Sweet!" Naruto said, subconsciously taking her hand and tugging it towards what she presumed was the direction of his home.

The walk was filled with small talk, and a few bits of gossip. (Apparently Naruto was really fine about Hinata, and Shikamaru was seeing some girl from Sand.) And finally they turn to some really nice appartment buildings. She remembered them as being sleek and modern, and that the pool looked to die for on a hot summer's day when she, Naruto, and Sasuke would ride by them on their bikes. She stood on her tip-toes and looked at the pool, glistening in the sun, with the fountains inside of it spraying water gently. Looking at it, she was immediately aware of the sweat on her back and on her forehead. She was tempted to take her clothes off then and go swimming in her underwear.

Sakura whistled. "You live here?"

"Yeah, moved in last year." he said, leading to her the entrance door for the building. Taking a key out of his pocket, he unlocked the door, and when they entered the air conditioning Sakura almost groaned. "They're really nice."

"I noticed." she said in return, looking down the hall at the doors of apartments. Naruto lead her to the stairwell. They walked up until there was no stairs left, and he led her to the door at the end of the hallway.

"This is me." he said, pulling out another key and opening the door.

When Sakura entered his home, she immediately noticed it smelled very clean, with an undertone of something earthly. It was pleasant, very pleasant actually, and she refrained from taking in a deep breath. She looked around, noticing that the entrance was directly into the living room. There was a big, brown and cushy looking couch and a matching loveseat to her left, and an entertainment center with a flat screen T.V. in the middle. A wooden coffee table sat in front of the couch, and on it was a candle that was halfway burnt away, a dirty coffee mug, and a book that was left open and overturned, probably to mark his place reading. Off to her far right was an open kitchen and a breakfast bar, and Naruto stepped inside behind her. A little too close. It kind of startled her.  
"Sorry if it's a bit messy. Wasn't exactly anticipating bringing a woman home at the moment." he chuckled jokingly, his breath ghosting her neck, and the hairs on the back of Sakura's neck raised in sensitivity. "I'll be right back. Make yourself at home."

With that, Naruto brushed his hand on her shoulder as he passed, walking down the hallway barefooted, his feet padding softly on the thick gray carpet. Sakura took her shoes off politely, sitting her purse down on the small end table right by the door, and began to hesitantly walk in the living room. After being nosy and looking at all the simple decor he had placed about, she wandered into the kitchen. It was surprisingly clean, with not a dish in sight, and the pink haired woman nodded in approval. So, in the five years span not only did he mature physically, but in his habits too. She still remembered the last time she was in his dorm room, you could barely walk without stepping into a bowl of half molded noodles.

Shuddering at the memory, she began to look around the kitchen some more. A can of coffee next to the coffee maker. So he enjoyed coffee. That was new. He hated the stuff in college, saying it was always too bitter for him. Or, Sakura mused, it could be for company. She'd have to ask him about it. Other than a red dish towel hanging on the handle of the oven, a flower pot in the window, and a bowl of fruit on the breakfast bar, the kitchen was pretty simple as well.

Going back into the living room, the pink haired woman threw herself on the couch, and this time did groan in appreciation. Seriously the softest couch she ever sat on. She literally just sank into it like a big warm hug. Snagging the book off the coffee table, she laid back and turned it over to see the title. It looked to be a how-to book for building a bookshelf, and Sakura giggled to herself. Why would Naruto be reading a how-to book for building a bookshelf?

"Glad to see you're still nosey as ever."

Jumping upright and slightly embarrassed he caught her sprawled out on his couch, she cleared her throat and put the book down on the coffee table. Standing up, she brushed down her shirt.

"Well, was just looking at your light reading over here." she said, nodding to his book. "You building a bookshelf?"

"Maybe." Naruto grinned.

The blonde haired man had changed into a white tee-shirt and a pair of jeans. The cotton fabric of his shirt stretched over his chest nicely, and looked really crisp and clean. His hair was slightly messy and damp still from his quick shower, and he was holding a pair of cleaner looking shoes.

"Ready?"

"Yup!" Sakura said, walking to get her purse and walked out the door with Naruto in tow. Said man locked the door, jiggling the handle to make sure it was secured. "Where are we going?"

"Ichiraku's?" he asked.

The pink haired woman rolled her eyes. "You and your ramen obsession."

"Hey! Nothing like a hot steaming bowl of ramen after a run."

"One, you need water, not salt. You're going to make your dehydration worse."

"Okay, my bad, _doctor._ " he said teasingly, and Sakura punched his arm. She threw some weight into it, but he didn't even flinch. "Congrats, by the way, Sakura-Chan."

"Thanks, Naruto."

"So no Ichiraku's?"

"Sure, sure. Why not. Just don't keel over." Sakura said, waving her hand as they began walking in that direction.

"It's okay, Sakura-Chan! I do this after every run."

"I am genuinely concerned for your well-being."

Getting to Ichiraku's, Naruto pulled a chair out for her to sit, and she gladly took it. Once settled, they placed their orders, and got their food pretty quickly. Sakura quickly tucked into her noodles, groaning at the first bite. It really had been too long since she had ramen noodles as good as Ichiraku's.

"Good?" Naruto asked, watching her as she slurped up her food. Surprisingly, he wasn't digging into his with as much enthusiasm as he used to. Instead, he was eyeing her intently. Strange.

"Kami, yes! Wave doesn't have any ramen as good as here." Sakura answered, taking a drink of water. She at least was able to convince him to order a glass of water, so at least the physician in her was sated a little bit.

Naruto hummed in approval, and took a bite. "When do you start working?"

"Sometime in a week or so."

"Where at?"

"There's a new hospital opening up downtown. I'll be working there. You still working in politics?"

Naruto swallowed, and sighed. "Yeah. I'm still way too young to completely take over for Dad, but I'm learning. Doing some other stuff."

"That's great! You'll be awesome." Sakura smiled, patting Naruto's hand. As she tried to pull it away, the blonde grabbed it and gave it a quick squeeze.

"Thanks, Sakura-Chan." Naruto said genuinely, and then his phone beeped. Glancing down at it, he apologized briefly, reading the message he supposedly got, and he typed a quick response before shoving it back into his pocket. "Hey Sakura, uh…"

"Mmm?" she hummed over a mouthful of noodles.  
"Well…" Naruto said, scratching the back of his head in discomfort.

Sakura immediately stopped eating and looked across the table at him. "What is it? Is everything okay?" His phone beeped again, and he read the message but didn't respond this time. "What? Do you have to go?"

"No." he said quickly, then sighed. "Okay, so about Sasuke-"

Sakura's phone rang shrilly, and she cursed, apologizing and taking it out of her pocket. Her mother's name and photo was vibrating on the screen, and she quickly answered it.

"Hello?"

" _Sakura! Where are you?"_ Mebuki said, not screaming yet but close. _"You need to help me cook and get ready for tonight!"_

"Okay, okay. I was having lunch with Naruto. I'll be home soon." Ending the call, Sakura looked over at her lunch companion. "Sorry, Naruto. Duty calls I guess. Thank you for lunch. I appreciate it."

"Anytime!" he assured, and Sakura grabbed her ticket and was getting up to pay and he reached out and grabbed her slender wrist. "No. I want to pay. Please."

"Naruto, it's okay, I can-"

"No. I invited you out to lunch, and I wanted to pay for your welcome home ramen." Scrunching her face up, Sakura opened her mouth to rebuttal when Teuchi walked over.

"Nonsense." the older man chuckled, grabbing Sakura's ticket. "The welcome home ramen is on me today. Welcome back, Sakura! Glad to have another customer back."

Said woman grinned, bowing politely. "Thank you, Teuchi-San." Turning to Naruto, she ruffled his hair playfully before adding, "I'll text you later. See you!"

Walking out of the restaurant, Sakura pulled her phone out of her pocket and texted Ino that she couldn't make it to the bar that night. She was met with a crying emoji, in which she ignored. When she got home, her father looked up to her from the couch, mouthing 'help me' as her mother hotly entered the room.

Oh joy.

XxX

Getting home, Naruto kicked his shoes off at the door tiredly. Dragging his feet to the couch, he fell into it, breathing in deeply. He could still smell the sweet scent of Sakura's shampoo on his cushion, and he inhaled again. He truly was not ready to see her all grown up like that.

As they went throughout their lives, he always had a crush on her. Even in elementary school, all the way up through college, he had liked her. He figured it was just a boy/girl thing, and he never wanted to do anything to disrupt their friendship. Besides, he knew she liked Sasuke. When she confessed to him and Sasuke embarassed her, Naruto never felt so jealous and angry at the same time.

What Sakura didn't know, is when she ran off the campus courtyard in tears with everyone looking on, Naruto turned to Sasuke and decked him so hard across the face, he almost broke his jaw.

It took a while for Naruto to forgive his best friend for hurting his other best friend like that, but they're like they always been. He's just glad to have Sakura back in his life completely now. It looks like her years in Wave have been good to her. Really good to her.

When he turned the corner and saw her leaned against the building on her phone, a grin plastered on her beautiful face, he almost stopped breathing for a second. Her hair had grown long, and looked silky to the touch. Her body had filled out, and he couldn't help but to drag his eyes across the newly found curves she had. Her jeans snugged her behind tightly, and he swallowed hard as he found his throat going dry. Her light green "Wave Medical School" T-shirt was risen up slightly to expose an inch of skin above her jeans, and he had to stop himself from staring as she looked up at him. Even startled without a drop of makeup, her face made his heart skip a beat.

Shaking his head, he decided he needed to stop thinking about his best friend like that. He wasn't going to be the next one to ruin the already shaky friendship he was hoping to re-build between the three of them. After all, he's going to probably have to play referee between her and Sasuke for a while. Throwing his school-boy crush on top of things would make it even messier than it already was.

Flipping the T.V. on, Naruto reclined back and watched a little bit of a game show, before snoozing lightly. The ringing of his phone jolted him out of his cat-nap, and looking at the time, he realized he had been out for about an hour. Seeing it was his mother, he answered it lazily.

"Hello." he said, sounding groggy as he inhaled and rubbed his eyes.

" _Hey, Sweetie."_ his mother cheerful voice filtered through. _"Are you getting ready?"_

"Ready for what?" he asked, turning the T.V. off.

" _Did you not read my text?"_

"No? Sorry, Ma. I fell asleep."

" _We're going to a friend's house for dinner tonight. Me, you, and your father."_

"Where at?"

" _Mebuki and Kizashi's! Little Sakura-Chan is back from Wave! Isn't that wonderful news?"_

"Awesome, Ma." he said, grinning as he began thinking about what he would text and say to Sakura to tease her about tonight. "What time?"

" _About 6 o'clock."_ she said. Naruto glanced at his clock. Okay, so he had about two hours. Enough to get a proper shower and shave, change, pick up a bottle of something, and meet up with his parents to get over there. _"And guess what!"_

"What, Ma."

" _Fugaku and Mikoto and Sasuke are going to be there too! Oh, it's going to be just like old times!"_

Well. Shit.


	3. Chapter 3

Throwing the last chopped up mushroom into the pot, Sakura huffed and blew a piece of hair out of her face. Looking around the kitchen, she surveyed the damage, cringing at the thought of all the dishes she'll be doing later. Leaning against the counter to take a breather, the pink haired woman had just taken her phone out of her pocket when her mother walked in.

"Sakura Haruno! You were supposed to be cooking! You're on your phone?" Mebuki huffed, snatching the offended item out of her hand.  
"No, mom! I swear I just pulled it out when you came in here. I got all the food done." Sakura insisted, throwing her hands up in defense. "Honest."

The older woman still slipped the electronic into the front pocket of her apron, and swatted at her daughter's behind. Sakura dodged her assault with ease. "Go upstairs and get ready. You have food all over you. I don't want our guests thinking you came back a savage."

"First of all, you're rude. Second of all, who are we having over that we have to impress?" Sakura asked, pawing at her mother's apron pocket for her phone. Her mother slapped the top of her hand and Sakura pulled it back in insult, cradling her hand to her body and looking at her mother in mock hurt.  
"Stop it. Now go upstairs and change. And maybe throw some makeup on for goodness sakes." Her mother scoffed, swatting at her daughter's behind again. This time she made contact, and a loud smack reverberated throughout the kitchen. "Go! Go now! They'll be here soon."

"Aw, mom." the pink haired woman whined.

"GO!"

"Fine." Sakura rolled her eyes and trudged upstairs, making puppy dog eyes at her dad. He gave her a look of sympathy, before turning back to his wife who was trying to tell him something. Traitor.

Once Sakura got into her room and in front of a mirror, she noticed she looked a hot mess. Her hair that she had tied up was sticking out in pieces everywhere. She had food all over her favorite jeans and T-shirt. She was pretty sure that was a zit forming on her forehead. Sighing, Sakura stripped herself of her soiled clothes, and looking through her closet for something decent. Pulling out a few dresses, she tried slipping one on, and realized it wouldn't go past her hips.

What...the...fuck…

Slightly panicking, Sakura tugged harder and wiggled, jumping up and down desperately trying to squeeze into her dress. Oh no. Oh no oh no ohnoohnoohnoohnoohno. Does none of her old clothes fit her at all? Frustrated, Sakura tossed that one to the side and tried on another, producing the same result. She knew she had grown in a few areas, but she didn't think her curves were that dramatic. What the hell was she going to do now?

"Sakura!" her mother called from downstairs.  
"Yes?" she said, trying to sound calm.

"Company just pulled in the driveway!"

"Are you shitting me?!"

"Language, Sakura!" her mother yelled disapprovingly.

Well, shit fire. Angry, Sakura filtered through her entire formal wear attire, before throwing all of it into a messy pile on the floor. Great. Company was here. She was naked. Her hair was a mess. A pimple was practically saying "how do you do" on her forehead. All her bags from Wave weren't back yet, and the only thing she packed with her for short-term was some underwear, a few pairs of jeans, a few t-shirts, and some PJs.

Wait! Her mother is a size or two bigger than her old clothes. Their bedroom was just down the hallway! Company was downstairs, but she was upstairs, and all she had to do was sprint to her parent's room, throw on a dress, brush her hair out, and the makeup was already in her mother's vanity! Bye-Bye pimple!

Cackling at her ingenious solution to this awful predicament, Sakura threw on her big PJ shirt from last night, and opened her door and immediately began sprinting down the hallway, watching the stairs to make sure nobody was coming up or standing at the bottom. Just as she turned her head to zone in on her parents bedroom door, she smacked face first into something solid.

Stumbling back, Sakura cursed rather loudly and grabbed her throbbing nose. Something grabbed hold of her shoulders to steady her. Her eyes were screwed shut as she rode out the pain, and once the sharp ache turned to a dull throb, she unscrewed them and looked up at what she ran into. A shirt. No, a shirt on a body. Who's body? A tall body, that's for sure. Her eyes rested at his collarbone. Naruto? Maybe.

Looking up through her eyes lashes while still holding her nose, her green eyes widened as they clashed with onyx.

"You have to be shitting me." she whispered in a disbelieving voice.

"Hn." Sasuke rumbled deep in his chest, looking down at her as she still held her nose. "Are you okay?"

Damn, that deep voice of his. Like dark velvet. She looked on to his face, and observed him quietly for a second. He was just as handsome as when she left, if not more so. His strong, defined facial features were almost regal in their looks. His wild dark hair was still spiked randomly, and his piercing eyes were smoldering on her skin. His arms were still on her shoulders, and the heat of his hands were burning through her clothes in a delicious kind of way. At this close proximity, she could smell his masculine, spicy scent and it was making her head swim a bit. He, like Naruto, had matured in his physique, and even though he had on a dark blue, long-sleeved shirt on, she could tell he was just as fit as their blonde best friend.

She was pulled out of her trance when he leaned back and let his eyes ghost down her body. Her body that was only in her underwear and a T-shirt right now. He raised a brow, and by the twitch on the corner of his lips, she could tell he was fighting back a smirk.

Thank god she had shaved last night.

"I'm. Fine." Sakura said hotly, pulling away from him, her face glowing a bright pink. "Thank you very much. Now, if you'll excuse me."

Trying to regain what was left of her dignity, Sakura decided not to run, but instead stomp the rest of the way to her mother's room before slamming the door and leaning against it once safely inside. She pretended she didn't hear Sasuke chuckling on the other side of it as she groaned loudly, fisting her hands in her messy hair as she slid down the wood.

Of all the times she imagined seeing Sasuke again, this never crossed her mind.

Shit.

XxX

The pink haired woman decided on her mother's simple red halter-top cocktail dress that came to her mid-thigh. After brushing her hair, applying some light makeup (covering up that zit), and adoring some tasteful dangle earrings, Sakura made her way downstairs. She heard chatter in the living room, and taking a deep breath, she turned the corner of the stairs to see the small gathering by the coffee table.

 _Okay, okay, breathe. Upstairs with Sasuke never happened. Just pretend like it never happened._

But as she entered the living room, the first person who caught her eye was Sasuke, and this time he did smirk. She glared, grinding her teeth.

 _You fucking cheeky prick…_

"Sakura!" her mother exclaimed, rushing to her side and pulling her into a half-hug. "How nice of you to finally join us."

"Well, it seemed like all of my time in Wave made me forget how to dress myself, mother." Sakura joked, and earned herself a little chuckle from the collective people.

When she glanced across the room to Naruto, her cheeks flushed a tinge of red, in which she turned her head to the side to let her hair cover her face a bit. He looked really good in his dark jeans and black button up with the sleeves rolled to his elbows. He must have shaved, because the five o'clock shadow was gone, and when he saw her brief gaze, he flashed his white smile at her.

"Sakura! You remember Sasuke?" her mother asked, and then snorted. "What am I saying, you guys grew up together! Of course you remember, Sasuke."

"Yeah, we already ran into each other upstairs, mom." Sakura said tersely, wishing the conversation would drop.

"Quite literally." Sasuke added, smirking at her when she glared at him.

"Knock it off." she gritted out, and Naruto raised a brow at their exchange.

Mebuki called for everyone to go into the dining room for dinner, and as the small gathering began to clamour into the next room, Sakura grabbed Naruto by the crook of his arm and yanked him back.

"You couldn't have warned me?!" she hissed, pinching his bicep. "Sasuke?!"

"I tried." the blonde hissed back, rubbing his arm sourly. "I texted you! You didn't answer your phone!"

"My phone…" Sakura trailed, thinking. "Oh my phone! Damn it! I was cooking, and then mom confiscated it."

"Yeah, well, Sasuke's coming."

"Thanks."

Walking into the dining room, Sakura tried to sit next to her parents, but her mother waved her off. "Nonsense, Sakura. Go sit next to your best friends!"

And that was how she got stuck between Naruto and Sasuke. When they sat down, Sakura and Sasuke made eye contact briefly, and Sakura picked her chair up from underneath her and moved it obviously closer to Naruto. All of the parents watched her do it with a curious look, but none of them said anything about it, much to her relief. Sasuke merely ignored it, while Naruto visibly bit back a laugh.

"So, Sakura." Mikoto started, leaning across the table. "How was Wave? I heard their beaches are to die for."

The pink haired woman smiled politely. "Oh yeah, they're beautiful. When I wasn't studying I was on the beach. Sometimes, I would actually study on the beach."

"That sounds amazing. I can definitely see you got a little bit of a tan."

"Yeah." Sakura said, holding her arm out so she could see it. "But we'll see how long that lasts with me being back in Konoha." There was a collective laugh from the mothers, and she glanced over to her father who was in an animate conversation with Fugaku and Minato. She caught something about football, and after that she tuned out. Oh well. Looks like she's not the complete center of attention, which she was grateful for.

"How was medical school? I bet it was difficult." Kushina commented. "But I heard Tsunade is astounding."

"Tsunade is actually coming here to Konoha to continue to train our little Sakura through her residency, isn't she, dear?" her mother piped in, practically beaming with pride for her daughter.

The younger woman cleared her throat, taking a sip of water from a glass that was in front of her. Even though she couldn't see them, she could feel both Naruto and Sasuke's eyes on the sides of her face, and it unnerved her a bit.

"Yes. She's coming here to help me through my residency." she said whilst nodding. "Medical school was tough, but very rewarding. I can't wait to finish my residency so I can start my practice."

"Sakura is beauty and brains." her mother added. Sakura fought the urge to fake gag.

"Indeed." Kushina grinned, eyeing Sakura intently when she asked, "So, have you been looking at any possible bachelors in Wave? Like a hot doctor?"

"Oh! Like in Grey's Anatomy? Is it like that?" Mikoto pitched in. "Have you met a McDreamy yet?"

"If not, I don't blame you. You were probably too busy with your education. I mean, my Naruto is still single. Oh!" the red haired woman said suddenly, as if an idea just popped into her head at that exact moment. "What if we set you two up on a date?" she asked excitedly.

Mikoto's eyes flashed in interest before adding,"Or better yet, Sasuke is still single! How about-"

"Okay!" Sakura yelped, having enough of the conversation. She stood abruptly and looked down at her mother, who was grinning and enjoying the conversation way too much. Her neck, all the way to the tips of her ears were red with mortification, especially when she realized she gained the attention of everyone, and they were all looking at her. "Mother. Help me with serving the food. Please."

Without waiting for a response, she walked into the kitchen, not daring to look back at the table. She heard the door to the kitchen open and close, and the familiar footsteps of her mother.

"Sakura Haruno! What is wrong with you?" she lectured, hand already poised on her hips. "That was very rude."

"Okay, and very uncomfortable!" Sakura screeched back. "Get your hounds dogs off my back."

"Hound dogs? You are so rude and disrespectful. Those "hound dogs" happen to be my very good friends, and they have been nothing but nice to you. You shouldn't be so bitter. They were only teasing."

The pink haired woman huffed, blowing a piece of hair out of her face. "Yeah, well, I'm not very fond of their teasing. You guys have always tried setting me up with one of them. It's not happening."

"Well," her mother ignored her, grabbing the pot of soup. "I think it's a very cute idea. And I think you should give the boys a chance. Either one of them at least."

Sakura groaned as her mother got out the nice bowls. "Mom, no. Absolutely not."

"Why not?" her mother asked, shrugging. "Both of them are very handsome, and would give me beautiful grand-babbies." The younger woman started to claw at her face as her mother just said something she never wanted to hear in her early twenties. "Naruto is going to be a distinguished politician. Sasuke is going into the special task force. Didn't you have a little crush on Sasuke at one point? I mean, really Sakura-"

"Mom. No. End of discussion. Done. Period. No more." Her mother opened her mouth to say something else, and the pink haired woman held up a hand. "Ah-ba-ba. No. Now hand me the bowls."

Walking back into the dining room, she surveyed the situation. It appeared as if everybody forgot her little tantrum, and Naruto and Sasuke were discussion something hotly. By the looks of it, both of them were pretty annoyed, but when she walked in, they stopped talking immediately and looked forward, both clenching their jaws. Huh. Weird.

Kushina, Minato, and her father were discussing something about Itachi with Fugaku and Mikoto. While Sakura came into the room, she began setting bowls in front of everyone's placemats, and looked over to Sasuke who was already watching her.

"How's Itachi?" she asked politely. Genuinely curious, but also to prove a point. She made brief eye contact with Naruto, and mentally stuck her tongue out at him.

 _See? I'm fine. I'm playing nice. I genuinely don't care about what happened._

Sasuke seemed a bit startled that she initiated conversation, but took her bait anyways. "He's good. Still studying abroad overseas."

"Oh yeah? Is he still studying law?" She asked, sitting down after she finished placing the bowls down. Her mother began dishing out the soup.

"Hn." he rumbled as he picked up his spoon. Sakura smiled, satisfied with her polite small talk and picked up her spoon as well. The steaming bowl in front of her made her mouth water, and she was going to leave the conversation at that to eat it when to her surprise, Sasuke continued it further. "He has a fiance now."

"A fiance, huh?" Sakura asked, tilting her head to the side. "Wow. Itachi? I never took him as a romantic type." The pink haired woman took a bite of soup, trying not to groan into her bowl. Really, she needed to stop loving food so much, or she was going to get chubby. After she finished swallowing, she asked, "Have you met her?"

"No."

"Well, I'm assuming he met her overseas then."

"Hn."

The one worded responses were getting old, so Sakura turned towards Naruto, ignoring Sasuke, and took another bite of soup. "So Naruto, did you know about coming over here earlier today when we had lunch?" Sakura missed Sasuke's hand visibly tightening on his spoon.

"No, sorry, Sakura-Chan. Otherwise I would have given you a heads up." The blonde said sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. Sakura watched his arm muscles flex with the action, but quickly turned them back to his face before he noticed her watching.

"I'm sure you would have, which is why we didn't tell you until later in the evening." His mother piped in and Mebuki laughed.

"I wanted it to be a surprise for Sakura. This is kind of a welcome home dinner." Her mother said.

"Some dinner. I cooked almost all the food for my own party." Sakura muttered under her breath, and her mother kicked her under the table. While she was hissing and grabbing at her shins, Naruto snickered at her, that is until she kicked his shins too.

"I hope you all enjoy the food tonight. Sakura cooked. Isn't it lovely?" her mother gushed, and shot her daughter a glare. Sakura glared back, still rubbing her shins sourly.

"Very good." Minato told her, smiling at her. Sakura smiled back in thanks.

"Really though, dear, it's very delicious." Mikoto said, reaching over and patting her hand.

"Thank you, guys." Sakura bowed her head slightly in gratitude.

"Really though, Sakura-Chan. If you could cook for me everyday, I would be set for life." Naruto chuckled.

Naruto must have not realized the implications of what he said (really though, he is pretty oblivious sometimes) but the rest of the table did. Kushina and Mebuki shared a look, and as her mother opened her mouth to say something, Sakura cut her off. "Well, Naruto, maybe if I did, you wouldn't be so dependent on ramen all the time."

"Oui, no fair. Ramen is delicious." the blonde said, looking offended.

"Ramen is nothing but sodium. You're going to have hypertension by the time you're 25."

"Well that's okay, I'll just go to you for treatment."

"The hell you will." Sakura giggled, taking her last bite of soup. She stood to grab for everyone's empty bowls, but her mother stopped her.

"No, no. It is your party after all. Me and the girls will dish out the next serving. You continue your conversation." Mebuki said a little too eagerly, and Sakura knew she just wanted to go in there and gossip with Kushina and Mikoto for a second. Rolling her eyes, Sakura obliged.

Naruto had started a conversation with her father about his recent project, and Fugaku and Minato were still talking about politics. Sitting back down, Sakura didn't know what to do with her hands, so she began fiddling with the napkin in her lap. She played with it for a while, rolled it between her fingers, twisting it into little braids. She was just about to get up and see what her mother was doing when she was interrupted.

"You always used to do that." That rich, velvety voice next to her rolled over her.

She cleared her throat. "Do what?"

"Fidget with your hands. You never could stay still for too long."

Slowly, Sakura lifted her green eyes off of her lap to look into his eyes. They were dark, and swirling with an emotion she just quite couldn't put a name to. Maybe it was several emotions, but his face never gave a single bit of that away. It never had when they were growing up. The only way she could ever tell what he was thinking was when she was looking into his eyes. And right now, either from years of no practice, or because he's starting to guard his eyes too, Sakura couldn't decipher what was running through his head.

But what was running through her head, was the picture of a young pink haired girl with doe-eyes and a broken heart.

She turned her head back down to her napkin. "Don't."

"Don't?" he asked, genuinely curious.

"Don't do that."

"Do what?"

"Don't act like you know me." she shot back hotly, watching him flinch slightly out of the corner of her eyes. Sighing, she stopped fiddling with her napkin, and turned back to face him. She opened her mouth to say something, anything, maybe to apologize, but before she could form a word the group of women came back with the pot roast and veggies.

"Here comes the main course!" her mother announced happily, a little too happy. Sakura realized her and the other two women must have had a glass of wine and some gossip in the kitchen. "And then for desert we have Sakura's delicious lemon-blueberry cake!"

Shaking her head and deciding to just drop it, the pink haired woman smiled, and decided to try to enjoy the rest of her evening. The rest of dinner went smoothly, and the food was good. She tried to focus her attention on answering questions about her experience in Wave and her medical degree. Before long supper was over, and the two other families were saying goodbye. Sasuke and his family already left, and Kushina and Minato just finished up their parting conversation with her parents. Following them to the door, Naruto's family walked out first, but the young man stayed behind. Sakura also noticed her parents had disappeared into the kitchen, probably to give them a bit of privacy. Why, she had no clue. Probably her mother trying to play matchmaker (as if).

"Sakura-Chan, I'm sorry about tonight." he said wearily, once again scratching his head. The nervous habit he had as a kid carried with him into adulthood, she mused. Since he wasn't looking and there was no one else around, she decided to go ahead and admire his muscles unabashedly. "About Sasuke."

"Why are you sorry, Naruto? It's not your fault."

"I know, but you probably didn't want to see him again like this."  
Sakura flashed back to the memory of her and Sasuke in the hallway, and she shuddered. "No, I agree, not like this."

Naruto sighed and leaned against the doorframe, shoving his hands in his pockets. "I hope things could go back to the way they were."

"I know." Sakura rubbed her arm, glancing down. "They will. Just got to give me time to get used to having him around again, I guess. Sorry for ruining our friendship. I feel like shit about it."

Before she knew what was happening, she was enveloped in strong arms. His masculine, woodsy scent filled her nostrils and she breathed in deeply. He was so warm, so comfortable, and she felt so small against him that she couldn't help but wrap her arms around his waist and lean into the hug. She felt the muscles along his back flex as he rocked them back and forth slightly.  
"Sakura, you don't apologize for anything, especially the way you feel." he rumbled against her, and she fought the urge to close her eyes. "And you didn't ruin any friendships."

"Yes, I did." she whispered, her voice thick. "I ruined things between you, me, and Sasuke. And then I ran off for five years. I'm so sorry."

"Don't." he said, pulling away from her, resting his hands on her shoulders to look into her face. She immediately felt cold. "Don't apologize."

"Okay." she said.

"And you didn't run off for five years. You left and did something amazing for yourself. Never apologize for that."

"Thank you, Naruto. Truly."

A huge crash from the kitchen made her jump. "Sakura!" her mother called. "Come help me with the dishes! Your father is a complete fool."

Sakura laughed, turning to her blonde friend, before opening the door. "Sorry. Duty calls."

"No worries." he smiled lazily, and exited the front door. "Text me tonight, okay?"

"Okay." she said, a little more excited to text him than she probably should be. "As long as you text me back."

"Always."

And at that, Naruto stepped off her front porch. Sighing loud enough for her parents to hear, she stomped into the kitchen dramatically. She was met with a fuming mother, a white-faced father, a counter full of dishes, and the family's best roast dish shattered into a million pieces on the floor.

"Well. Will either of you get the broom?"

XxX

After two hours of clean-up, Sakura took a shower, wiped the makeup off her face, and put her mother's cocktail dress back into her closet. Her mother just gave her her phone back, and she flopped onto the bed to surf through her messages.

(~)

2 Messages from Pig

 _ **Hope dinner went okay! Me and the girls went to the bar and had one for you instead. ;)**_ _7:00pm_

 _ **By the way, who was the mysterious company?**_ _7:01 pm_

2 Messages to Pig

 _ **It better had been something strong, because man I need it tonight.**_ _8:50pm_

 _ **You won't even believe it. Tell you over coffee tomorrow.**_ _8:51pm_

5 Messages from Naruto

 _ **We're coming over for dinner.**_ _4:37pm_

 _ **But so is Sasuke's family.**_ _4:39pm_

 _ **Including Sasuke.**_ _4:39pm_

 _ **So head's up.**_ _4:40pm_

 _ **Did you get my messages?**_ _5:43pm_

1 Message to Naruto

 _ **I got your messages.**_ _8:54pm_

1 Message from Naruto

 _ **(-_-)**_ _8:55 pm_

1 Message to Naruto

 _ **Isn't it past your bedtime?**_ _8:57pm_

1 Message from Pig

 _ **Foreverhead, I lyk, totes waste rn. May ddo burnhc instead of coffffe, kkkkkk?**_ _8:58pm_

1 Message to Pig

 _ **Please, for the safety of everyone, give your keys to Hinata, drink plenty of water, and take an aspirin before you go to bed, okay?**_ _8:58pm_

1 Message from Pig

 _ **Tnks, Doc bestfrien.**_ _8:59pm_

1 Message from Sasuke

 _ **We need to talk.**_ _9:01pm_

1 Message to Sasuke

 _ **Okay…?**_ _9:01pm_

1 Message from Sasuke

 _ **I'll be at your house in five.**_ _9:03pm_

1 Message to Sasuke

 _ **What?! No! Why?**_ _9:03pm_

2 Messages from Naruto

 _ **No, I'm a grown man with no bedtime.**_ _9:04pm_

 _ **Besides, I was waiting for you to text me.**_ _9:04pm_

1 Message to Naruto

 _ **Have you talked to Sasuke at all after dinner?**_ _9:05pm_

1 Message from Naruto

 _ **No, why?**_ _9:06pm_

(~)

Sakura bit her lip, chewing it as she thought about what she should do. Does she tell Naruto Sasuke is coming over? Or does she not? Why does this feel so...so secretive? It was like she automatically knew Sasuke didn't want anyone to know he was coming to see her at night. Not to mention what her parents would say. And if she told Naruto Sasuke was coming over, would he be mad? Would he rush over? Her stomach was in knots. Feeling like crude, she reopened her messages.

(~)

1 Message to Naruto

 _ **No reason.**_ _9:07pm_

1 Message from Sasuke

 _ **I'm here. Come out.**_ _9:10pm_

(~)

Swallowing, Sakura felt her throat go dry. She jumped out of her bed, taking a quick look in the mirror. She was only wearing a light pink PJ tank top and some boy shorts. Not wanting a repeat of earlier that evening, Sakura pulled on a pair of baggy sweatpants and her old Konoha University jacket (oh, the irony) and threw her long hair up in a messy ponytail. Slipping on some sandals, she quietly tiptoed through the house, trying not to rouse her parents so they don't get up to question where she was going, and she sneaked through the front door.

Turning around after shutting the door gently, she saw Sasuke leaned against a sleek black car, arms crossed across his chest. The raven haired man was clad in the same blue jeans and dark blue shirt he wore for dinner. Sakura couldn't help but to admire him for a second, her heart skipping a beat as she realized this was the first time she snuck out of her own house, even if she was now a woman in her twenties. He raised a brow at her when she walked down the driveway to him, and when she stopped in front of him, she raised a pink brow of her own.

"What do you want, Sasuke?" she asked, crossing her arms and looking around. Last thing she needed was a nosy neighbor peeking out of their window to give her parents a call to tell them that their daughter was outside talking to some man in the dark.

"I told you, to talk." he said, eyeing her intently.

"Okay, so talk." Pausing for a second and taking the sight of her in, Sasuke watched her face as he thought about something. She didn't know what, but before she could muse what it was he pushed off of the car and opened up the passenger door. "What're you doing?"

Sasuke nodded towards the inside of the care. "Get in. We're going to talk."


	4. Chapter 4

Sakura stared at the young man holding open the car door, and swallowed thickly as she decided what to do. Glancing wearily over her shoulder towards her house, she turned back to Sasuke and sighed. "Okay."

Deciding that she was going to see where this was going, she walked hesitantly to his car and slipped inside, avoiding the eye contact she felt on her face as he watched her closely. The car was just as nice on the inside as it was on the outside. It had smooth, black leather seats, and a fresh scent that she couldn't really put a name too. He closed the door for her, and there was a few beats of silence inside the car while he walked around it to the driver's door. Sakura used that time to take a huge breath and let it out slowly, trying to work up the nerve to deal with what was potentially about to happen. This could either go really well, or really bad. She mused that either situation was equally likely.

Sasuke slipped inside the driver's door, and to her surprise, he didn't immediately start the car. Instead, they both sat there in complete silence, his hands gripping the steering wheel and her's limp in her lap. As she opened her mouth to say something, anything, he started the car and pulled out onto the street.

"Where are we going?" she asked cautiously, glancing at the streetlights as they cruised down the road.

"Somewhere." he drawled, slowing down for a stop sign and turning on his left turn blinker.

"T-This isn't the part where you uhm, kill me or something, right?" Sakura asked in a half-joking manner, and earned a smirk out of the young man. "Right, Sasuke?"

"Right."  
"Right you're going to kill me, or right you're not going to kill me."

"Right to this isn't the part where I kill you."

"So you are going to kill me." the pink haired woman groaned. "Aren't you?" Silence. "Sasuke?" More silence. "Sasuke?!"

"I am not going to kill you." said man rolled his eyes, but she could see the corner of his mouth twitching to hold back another smirk as he turned right onto another street. He was amused at her terror. How cute. "Like I said, we're going to talk."

Sakura sighed, throwing herself back against the passenger seat and turning her body to face him fully. "Okay, yeah, so you've been saying for the past twenty minutes. What exactly are we going to talk about?"

Pulling off into a nearby park, Sasuke rolled down the hill and parked the car next to the old playground. Sakura watched as he got out of his car and walked around to open her car door for her. She stepped out and surveyed her surroundings. This was the old park her, Sasuke, and Naruto used to frequent before they grew "too cool" for playgrounds. She remembered it vividly, and as she looked at the equipment, she can almost imagine them in their elementary days. When her eyes ghosted over the old worn down slide, she can almost picture when Sasuke pushed Naruto off of it, and the scolding he got when the parents found a crying Naruto limping home.

"I haven't been here in years." she whispered, still looking around and re-living memories in her head.

"You've been gone for five." Sasuke said plainly, walking past her without even telling her where he was going. Probably assuming she'd follow him.

Rolling her eyes, she did just that. "It was years before that too."

Walking through the playground, the raven haired man stopped at the swingset, and to her surprise, he sat down on one. Raising a pink brow at him, she couldn't help but notice he looked a little silly and a little too big to be sitting on the old swing, but she sat down on the one next to him regardless. For a while, neither of them said anything as Sakura began swinging lightly. Finally, Sasuke cleared his throat.

"You're still mad at me." he said it as if he was telling her about the weather.

"No, I'm not." she said calmly, shrugging and still swinging.

"Yes, you are." he said tiredly. "I know you are."

"You know nothing." she taunted back.

"Then why did you snap at me during dinner?"

"I didn't."

"Yes, you did." he sighed. "Why?"

"I don't know."

"Sakura…"

"I said I don't know."

"Bullshit!"

It startled her that he cursed, and he said it with such frustration that she jumped a little bit. He stood up suddenly and grabbed her swing as it swung forward, stopping her movement. He had both hands holding the chains and they were almost nose to nose. She could smell his spicy scent again, and her heart started pounding as she realized all she had to do was tilt her head and lean forward an inch or two and their lips would be connected. Her eyes flickered to his mouth with that thought, but as she lifted them back to his, she saw he was still staring at her intently.

"Sakura." he started, and his breath ghosted across her lips. She fought the urge to shiver. "If you're mad at me, you need to say it. We can't keep going on like this."

"Bullshit!" she countered, pushing him away from her as she stood on her feet, wheeling around to face him. "We've been going on like this for over five years, Sasuke! What were you expecting?"

"What do you mean?" he asked, his eyes never leaving hers.  
"I came back, yeah. But everything can't just, just fit back into place!" she shrieked, and started to pace. "For five years, Sasuke. Five years I left and never heard from you."

"I never heard from you either." he countered, and she stopped pacing to glare at him.

"I wonder why." Sakura said icily, and he flinched. They held one another's gaze before he finally looked away. She hung her head, wrapping her arms around her while there was a heavy pause. Just when she thought their talk was over, Sasuke finally spoke.  
"I wanted to talk to you." he admitted as he sat back down on the nearest swing, sighing. "I wanted to talk to you pretty bad."

"Why?" she said so softly he thought he imagined it.  
"Because why does anyone want to talk to anyone?" he asked exasperatedly, running a hand through his hair in frustration. "I missed you? I felt terrible for what happened? I want my friend back?"

Sakura swallowed a lump in her throat as she steeled herself not to tear up in front of him. This conversation was long overdue. "Why did you have to do it?" she said, lifting her head back up to look at him. "I get it. You didn't feel the same way, but why did you have to say that? In front of the whole courtyard? Do you know how embarrassing that was? How hurtful?"

"Sakura...I…"

"No! Do you know how awful it was to feel that way? It took me a long time to get over it. But I have. It doesn't hurt me anymore to think about it. But I'm sorry if I'm still having a hard time trying to jump back into this, Sasuke." Sakura huffed. "I'm trying though. It's been five years, and we're both different people now. I want to be your friend again, I do. I don't want to throw away all the years we've had together. So bear with me while I try to find out where we stand together."

There was a long pause as Sakura watched his strained expression. For a while she thought he wasn't going to say anything to that at all, but Sasuke finally cleared his throat, before saying in a raspy voice, "Fair enough."

Sasuke got up from the swing and as he began walking, she figured he was going back to the car so she began to follow suit. Instead, in a very un-Sasuke like manner, he approached her instead and wrapped both arms around her loosely, tugging her close. Her cheek rested on his pec right above his heart, and she could feel its gentle thumping against her cheekbone. His smell and warmth wrapped around her like a security blanket, and the muscles hidden under his shirt flexed against her body as he hugged her. Her arms laid limp at her side while she tried to register just what was happening.  
"You can take all the time you need to find out where we stand together." Sasuke began, his voice vibrating his chest against her head. "I'll be here. But just know that I'm sorry. I'm very sorry." He pulled away enough to where he was resting his hands on her shoulders, looking into her eyes as he spoke. "I never should have done that the way I had. I can't even really come up with a reason as to why I did it. But I do know I am very sorry, and I wouldn't blame you if you didn't want to speak with me."

Sakura smiled sadly at him, and lifted her hand up to wrap around his bicep and gave it a squeeze. "Sasuke, I forgive you." she spoke softly, and he let his arms drop from her shoulders. "Truly I do."

"Thank you." Sasuke said, sounding as relieved as he could get.

"Friends?" Sakura asked, extending a hand out.

He took it and gave it a shake before he let it drop to her side. "Hn."

"Oh come on!" the pink haired woman hollered, throwing her arms up in the air. "This crap again?"

"What?"

"You just spoke like a normal person for like, an hour! Sentences and all! Now you're back to your grunting crap?"

"Rude."

"And here comes the one word responses. Seriously, do you need a speech therapist?" Sakura teased, grinning as she saw his lips start twitching to smirk. "I am a doctor now, I can refer you, if you'd like."

"Tch. Annoying."

"And the name calling? Really? Maybe you need anger management too."

Having enough of her teasing, Sasuke reached out and grabbed a hold of her, putting her in a headlock and began to walk towards his car with her still secured under his arm. She squealed and kicked and tried biting his arm, but she knew with her training she could get out of it if she really wanted to. Instead she decided to humor him, and let him hold her like that the whole walk to the car. He only let her go to open her door for her and to let her inside the vehicle. The car ride home was a lot more pleasant, even if it was in silence as they both looked out through the windows and each digested the night's conversation. As he pulled up to her house, she paused as she reached for the door handle.

Turning around, Sakura faced Sasuke and bit her lip. He raised a brow at her hesitancy, before she said quietly, "Thank you, Sasuke. For tonight. We really needed it."

"Hn."

Grinning at him, she exited the car and shut the door behind her gently, so not to wake her parents. Sasuke didn't leave until she got indoors. She watched his car pull away, and sighed in exhaustion as she kicked her shoes off by the door. Pulling her phone out of her pocket, she read the time with a little bit of a groan. _11:18 pm._ Great. Did she really stay out that late with Sasuke? Debating on whether to go straight to bed or not, Sakura shrugged and decided that there was leftover cake calling her name in the kitchen. As she sliced herself a generous portion, and was just about to grab a glass of milk, the kitchen light turned on brightly and she hissed at the assault on her eyes.

"Out all hours of the night now are we, Sakura?" her mother said in disappointment, clad in her bathrobe with a curler in her bangs and her hands on her hips.

Crap.

XxX

"Yeah!" Sakura said in annoyance, rolling her eyes as she shook out a pair of pants. She hung those up and switched her phone to the other side, shrugging to pinch the phone between her ear and shoulder. "You would think I was 15 with the lecture I got the other night about being out late."

It had been a few days since her talk with Sasuke, and the two of them had been texting good naturedly since. Their friendship was starting to mend itself, and she couldn't be happier. However, the yelling she got from her mom seemed to amuse all of her friends (especially Sasuke), but it just gave her a massive headache.

" _Why would she make a big deal out of it?"_ Ino laughed on the other end, finding that her best friend getting scolded by her mother still was the most hilarious thing she heard all week.  
"Something about me losing my honor if someone were to find out." Sakura said, rolling her eyes once more as she hung up a shirt. Doing laundry sucked, but at least doing laundry while gossiping with your best girl friend made it suck less.

" _Doesn't she know what it's like in today's age? Like, people have one night stands all the time."_ the blonde added.

"Please, whatever you do, don't tell my mom that. She'll have a heart attack. She's already upset I'm moving out on my own."

" _You going to have any guys over at your place, Sakura?"_

"Maybe I will." the pink haired woman said, a wicked grin spreading across her face. "You never know. I may just have to start dabbling in the art of man eating."

" _Be a sugar baby. Least you'd get some perks."_ Ino quipped, and she must have been eating because Sakura heard her smack her lips through the receiver. The young doctor wrinkled her nose in annoyance.

"Ew, Pig. Chew your slop with your mouth closed." Sakura got a louder lip smacking in return. "Okay, disgusting. But no, I am not going to be a sugar baby! That's too much commitment. I just want a few pieces of man candy to be at my beckon call."

" _Well, at least you got a heads start on your man harem from the sounds of it."_

"What are you talking about, Pig?" Sakura asked, using her hip to bump the dryer door closed as she walked out of the laundry room and into the kitchen. Picking through the fruit basket, Sakura grabbed an apple and began to crunch on it.

" _You know what I'm talking about, Forehead!"_ Ino shrieked, and Sakura winced, pulling the phone back slightly. _"Naruto and Sasuke!"_

"Oh hell no." the pink haired woman yelled back. "Naruto and I are just friends, and Sasuke and I are just starting to mend things between us. I am _not_ going down that road again. With either of them."

" _No, no. Hear me out."_

"If what is about to come out of your mouth is what I think it is, I'd rather not."

" _Just do like, a friends with benefits thing with both of them! It's the perfect idea. You get to have hot kinky sex with the both of them, and they get to have hot kinky sex with you! And you don't run the risk of sleeping with an STD sleazebag, or a stalker. And I bet either one of them has a massive-"_

"Ino you shut the fuck up right now!"

" _Okay! Geez, it was just a suggestion."_ Ino had the audacity to sound insulted at Sakura's outburst.

"Kami, you, my mother, Mikoto, and Kushina can just go jump off a cliff."

" _Harsh."_

"Anyways, Pig. I'm going to let you go. I still got to run down to the hospital and take my documents to the employment center. I begin work in two days and I still need to get my employee ID and parking pass."

" _Oh! You're starting work already?"_

"It's been over a week, Pig." Sakura said, grabbing her purse and making sure the papers were still in it. "I need to get to work at some point."

" _Awww, okay. Well, how about we go out for drinks with the girls tonight!"_ Ino suggested. _"You weren't able to go the other night, so let's do it tonight! Please? Before you go slave yourself away at work and no one gets to see you?"_

Sakura laughed, walking out the door and locking it. "Sure, sure. Let's have some drinks tonight. And I won't be M.I.A all the time, Pig. You'll still hear from me."

" _What?"_ the blonde snorted. _"You'll send me a postcard?"_

"Shut up." the pink haired woman laughed, getting into her car. "I'll text you later about it. Bye, Pig."

" _Bye, Forehead."_

Hanging up, Sakura began the drive to the new hospital. It wasn't a terrible ride, only with mild traffic, and when she pulled up to the building she noticed it was very sleek and modern looking. She found a spot fairly easily, and walked into the employment center and got her things taken care of. Sakura took her picture for her ID and received her other documents, and when they finally came out with her freshly laminated ID, she couldn't help but to beam with pride for a bit when she looked at the name printed neatly under her picture: _Sakura Haruno, M.D._

Looking at the time and seeing it was just before lunch, the young doctor decided to walk around the hospital and look at all of the amenities. It was way better than anything they had in Wave, and she was excited for Tsunade-Sama to see it all. There still wasn't any patients in the hospital, but her keycard still worked, so she was even able to tour the operating rooms and patient quarters. Sakura even managed to sneak into the employee lounge, and buy a candy bar from the new vending machine.

Munching on her caramel and chocolate goodness, she decided to take a look down the offices reserved for the practicing physicians. She thumbed the name plaques situated on the outside of the rooms, and paused when she found hers. A huge grin split across her face as she rubbed her finger across the name, and she cracked the door open to take a curious look inside. There sat an empty bookshelf, an empty desk, a huge leather desk chair, and a leather couch with a wooden coffee table in the far corner. It all seemed so bare and lonely, and she just couldn't wait to fill it up with her own personality.

Deciding that she had poked around enough, Sakura began the trek back to her car. When she stepped into the heat of the noon sun, she outwardly groaned and squinted her eyes. Man, has she been getting spoiled with air conditioning. The walk to her car was short and uneventful, but as she got into her vehicle, her phone beeped, signaling she had a new message. Pulling it out, she decided to see who it was from.

(~)

1 Message from TenTen

 _ **Hey girl! I was going to the gym for a bit today. Wanted to know if you were in? Heard you're into kick boxing. Wanna spar?**_ _12:03pm_

1 Message to TenTen

 _ **Yeah! Sure! Sounds good. Going a week without training has probably turned me into mush though. T_T**_ _12:03pm_

1 Message from TenTen

 _ **LOL. I'm sure you're fine. I'll text you the address! Meet you there in an hour?**_ _12:04pm_

1 Message to TenTen

 _ **Sounds good!**_ _12:05pm_

(~)

Shrugging, Sakura figured since she didn't really have anything else planned for the day, and she really did need to keep up on her training, sparring with TenTen wouldn't be such a bad way to spend her afternoon. Besides, she needed to scope out a new gym to go too, and this would be a good start.

When she got home, the pink haired woman ran up to her room and threw on a sports bra, some spandex shorts, and a red tank top she used back in Wave for her kick boxing. Grabbing her tape and her equipment (the rest of her bags from Wave finally came in), she threw her long hair up into a secured bun and grabbed a bottle of water from the kitchen. Her mother was in there, presumably fixing her father lunch, and gave her a questioning look.

"Going kick boxing with TenTen, mom." she explained, kissing her on the cheek. "Bye, I love you. Be home before dinner."

"Okay, dear. Make sure you come back with enough time to shower before dinner. You know how sweaty you get after you workout, and I don't want you smelling all throughout supper."

"Yes, mom." Sakura answered dutifully, but fought an eye-roll. As she got to the door, she spotted her father on the couch, and called out to him, "Bye, Dad! Love you!" He answered her with a small wave.

The gym was actually relatively close, so she decided to walk, and it didn't take her very long at all to get there. They must have built it since she left, because she remembered that the building it resided in used to be an old furniture store. Pushing through the door, she surveyed the inside of it, and noticed it was pretty large for a gym. It housed a lot of workout equipment, but it was the matted area in the back that caught her attention. She walked forward hesitantly, eyes scanning for TenTen, until she finally found her brunette friend against the wall in the back.

"Hey, TenTen!" Sakura called as she walked towards her. When she got to the wall her friend was preoccupying, the pink haired woman threw her gym bag down as TenTen finally noticed her. The brunette broke into a huge grin, and rushed forward to hug her.

"Sakura!" she exclaimed. "It's so good to see you!" Pulling away, TenTen looked her up and down and smiled. "You look so different!"

"So everyone has been saying." Sakura said shyly, looking down at herself. "I hope it's a good thing!"

"It is! Not that you've ever looked bad, but, you know. You just look different. In a good way."

"Thanks?" Sakura asked, and TenTen laughed.

"I got word vomit. How about we stretch and get to sparring?"

"Sounds good!"

The two women helped each other stretch, and chatted whilst doing so. Apparently Lee has been going on about the pink haired woman non-stop, and it was driving TenTen crazy. Sakura couldn't help but to laugh at that. Sakura also learned that the brunette was dating Neji now, and that she was thinking of opening up her own dojo, specializing in weapons. TenTen congratulated her on her medical degree, and her new position at the hospital.

Once they were done stretching, they helped each other tape up, and hit the mat. They sparred for a while, and Sakura was glad to see they were evenly matched for the most part. But in the end, they started to alternate winning. Sakura was so glad to feel the familiar burn through her muscles from a good workout, and it wasn't too long before her and TenTen stopped to take a break and drink some water. Sakura was slick with sweat, and rubbed at her eyes to get the salty stuff out of them.

"So, who all have you gotten a chance to see so far?" TenTen asked, tossing her a small white towel as she used one to herself.

"Oh, just a few people really." Sakura answered, using the towel to wipe the sweat off her face and the back of her neck. "Ino, Naruto, Sasuke, you."

TenTen paused mid-drink, and rasied her brows at her friend. "Sasuke?"

"Yeah, Sasuke." Sakura said, sticking her tongue out. "We're good now."

"For real? I mean, after-"

"Yes, after everything. We're good now. We're friends."

"Okay. I'm glad for you guys. He was pretty miserable after everything."

"So I've heard." Sakura grumbled into her water bottle. "But I'm just ready to get my life moving. I don't want to dwell on the past too much."

"Hear, hear." The brunette agreed, clinking her bottle against Sakura's. "I feel that. Also, you at least have to say hi to Lee at some point. Before he gives me a brain hemorrhage would be better."

Sakura threw her head back and laughed. "Will do. Hey! By the way, Ino and I were gonna ask you and Hinata if you guys were up for some drinks later tonight? I go back to work in a few days, and wanted to go out before I started."

"Sounds good! Just let me know what time and where."

"Sure, I'll text you later about it."

"Hey! Sakura-Chan!" A familiar voice boomed over their conversation, and both girls turned their heads to see the cheerful blonde walking towards them. Naruto was clad in workout-shorts, tennis shoes, and a cut off tank top that showed off his sides as he moved. Sakura couldn't help but to admire his physique again, and she felt a tad bit unsettled that she found herself wishing he'd take off his shirt. Dropping his gym bag next to theirs, he looked in between both of them and took in their sweaty state. "What're you guys up to?"

Sakura grinned at her friend, putting her water bottle down. "We were just sparring, that's all."

"Really?" the blonde asked, raising a brow and looking her up and down. Sakura shivered, wondering whether or not it was the sweat cooling on her skin that made her do it. "You mentioned you did kick boxing back in Wave. You any good?"

"Yeah she is!" TenTen piped up. "She gave me a run for my money."

"Oh, come on, TenTen." Sakura said uneasily, rubbing her arm. "I'm not bad, but I'm not anything to write home about."

"Spar with me." Naruto said, beginning to tape up his hands.  
"What?" the pink haired woman asked, kind of taken back by his request.

"Spar with me, Sakura-Chan."

TenTen grinned, looking between the two. "I say do it, Sakura. It would be funny to see little Naruto here get his ass handed to him by a woman!"

Sakura whipped towards her brunette friend and scoffed. "More like the other way around!"

"Aw, come on, Sakura-Chan. Just one match, and I'll leave you alone." he borderline-begged, throwing her his puppy dog eyes. "Please? TenTen won't spar with me anymore, and Sasuke isn't here. Besides, I wanna see what you can do!"

"Fine." Sakura caved, rolling her eyes and stepping onto the mat. "One match, and then I have to go get ready for dinner."

Naruto grinned widely, and TenTen seemed far too amused than she should have been. The blonde stepped onto the mat, and before she knew it, he was a blur of blonde and she found herself on her back on the mat, slightly dazed. TenTen was laughing hysterically, and Sakura found herself getting a little more than pissed off. Jumping back up, she marched up to her male friend and stuck a finger in his chest.  
"You son of a bitch!" she hollered, poking him pointedly in the chest. "I wasn't ready! You didn't even give me a warning!"

Naruto leaned in so close she felt his breath fan her lips when he countered, "Sorry, Sakura-Chan. Didn't think you needed one." The pink haired woman narrowed her eyes as he leaned back. "I guess you need to be babied a bit, I mean, afterall-"

Before Naruto could finish his sentence, Sakura swung her leg around and kicked his from underneath him. The blonde fell back onto his back with a loud _umpf,_ and the pink haired woman could vaguely make out TenTen's laughter in the background. Naruto recovered much more quickly than she anticipated, but she was ready, and the two began throwing punches and kicks. Both of them were able to dodge most with ease, but some landed, and Sakura could tell they were both going relatively easy. Afterall, it was just a sparring session, and it wasn't long before her previous workout with TenTen started to ache in her muscles. Deciding she was going to try to end on a strong note, Sakura was able to knock Naruto on his back once more, and this time, without even thinking, she straddled him.

Sakura was about to put him in some kind of bar, when she made the mistake of looking down at him. Whatever she was planning to do melted in her mind as her green eyes came into contact with his baby blues. The molten heat she saw in them made her quiver, and she knew exactly what he was thinking as she looked him in his eyes. They were stormy, and watching her with what she could only describe as hunger. Her throat went immediately dry, and she couldn't help but try to squeeze her legs together as she felt an unfamiliar sensation roll through her body. As a result, her legs squeezed around his midsection, and her action did not go unnoticed by her sparring partner. If it was possible, the young man's eyes grew even darker as he realized what she did (and probably why she did it). Blood rushed up from her neck to her cheeks, and she began to panic. But before she could scrambled off of him, which she was in the motion of doing, Naruto flipped them over so he was hovering over her with her pinned down beneath him. He had each of her wrists in his hands, holding her down, and he leaned in close enough that he was practically whispering in her ear.

"I think I won, Sakura-Chan." he rumbled, and he was so close to her that she could feel the heat radiating of his body and onto hers. He pulled back a bit, watching her intently for a second as he took in the sight of her sprawled out beneath him.

There was a deep coughing noise to their left, and both Naruto and Sakura snapped their gazes up to see a madly blushing TenTen, her fist still in front of her face as she coughed once more. Naruto's eyes widened as he looked down at the flustered pink haired woman beneath him, as well as the on-looking crowd, and he immediately jumped up and off of her so fast that it gave Sakura second-hand whiplash. She was much slower to stand, and she watched as the blonde grinned sheepishly, a tiny blush dusting his own cheeks as he scratched the back of his head.

"Okay, wow. Well, that was a good sparring match." the brunette started, looking down at the floor uncomfortably. "But I need to go, Sakura. I have to get dinner cooked for me and Neji, especially if we're going out for drinks tonight."

"Yup! I completely understand." Sakura assured, gathering her things up. "I need to get back to shower before dinner. It was good seeing you." she said, leaning forward and hugging TenTen. "I'll text you later tonight about what time."

"Sounds good! See you, Sakura." Tenten said, and looked at Naruto. "Bye, Naruto!"

"Later!" the blonde said, and with that the brunette left them alone as they finished gathering their things. "Uh, Sakura-Chan?"

Said woman stiffened a bit, hoping he wasn't going to bring up their little moment on the mat as she hummed, "Hmmm?"

"Thanks, uhm, thanks for sparring with me."

"No problem!"

"Hopefully we could do it again?"

"Yeah!"

"I'll text you later?"

Sakura grinned, nodding. "But not if I text you first."

Naruto grinned back. "I always text you first."

"Liar."

"Whatever you say, Sakura-Chan."

Hugging her best friend goodbye, Sakura tried to ignore the tingling she still felt all over her body, and the way it worsened as she felt his body press against hers. Maybe Ino was right. Maybe she really did need to get laid. It wasn't like her to be acting like this, _especially_ with Naruto. During the walk home though, Sakura decided she was going to have to do something about the heat between her legs, because it had been persistent ever since their sparring session.

When she got home, she decided to take a cold shower instead.

XxX

Throwing his gym bag down, Naruto immediately stripped and ran to the shower, turning the faucet on the coldest setting it had, and he gritted his teeth as the icy water ran in rivulets down his body. The throbbing erection he had was beginning to go away as he tried thinking about something else, anything other than his best friend. He felt frustrated, and kind of guilty, as he tried not to replay the scene at the gym.

 _Naked grandma, Naruto, naked grandma. Naked grandma with saggy tits that are definitely not perky with taut pink nipples. Definitely with pale old wrinkly skin, and not a smooth and sun-kissed canvas laid out before him. Definitely not with long, soft pink hair splayed out underneath her as she looks up at him with hungry green eyes, her pink lips softly parted as her hands travel their way up his chest to circle around his neck, fisting her long fingers in his hair, those creamy thighs wrapping around his hips tightly as she moans in his ear while he eases inside-_

"What the fuck is wrong with you?!" Naruto yells out loud at himself, shaking his head as he roughly yanks the water faucet off in anger.

Deciding that not even a cold shower will help, the blonde grabs a towel and wraps it around his midsection as he darts into the kitchen. Opening his fridge, he grabs the nearest thing (a pickle jar) and opens the lid and begins to swig out of it. Sputtering at the briny, salty juice, he forces himself to drink it again as he feels his erection going down. As he lifted the jar for the third time, he lifted it too earnestly, and upheaved half the juice down his chest. Cursing, he set the jar down and began wiping at himself with the dish towel. His doorbell rang.

"W-Who is it?" Naruto called, walking to the door and peeking out the peep-hole. Seeing who it is, Naruto decided to go ahead and open it.

"Dobe." Sasuke said, walking into his apartment. "Did you suddenly forget how to text?"

"No, sorry, Teme." Naruto said sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. "I was in the shower."

The raven haired man raised an eyebrow, glancing at his friend up and down. Taking in a deep whiff, Sasuke cringed back and pinched his nose. "In pickle juice, you fucking retard?"

"Oui!" Naruto cried, throwing a sloppy punch towards his friend. It was awkward trying to punch while holding a towel to your body, and Sasuke dodged it easily. "Not in pickle juice, you ass."

"Well why the hell do you smell like you did?!"

"I was drinking pickle juice and spilled some on me!" Naruto only realized how weird that sounded after it left his mouth. Sasuke watched him like he was crazy.

"Why the fuck were you drinking pickle juice?"

Naruto fumed, mostly out of embarrassment. "None of your goddamn business! Maybe I just like pickle juice?!"

Sasuke stared at him for a second, before sighing and leaving it be. "Whatever you say, Dobe."

"Why are you here anyways?"

The raven haired man shoved his hands in his pockets, leaning against the door. "You weren't answering your phone, and Kiba invited everyone to come over to his house for some drinks and to watch the football game tonight. You didn't answer, so I got stuck coming and checking on your bitch ass."

"Screw you."

"Are you coming or not?" Sasuke asked, rolling his eyes.  
"Yeah, yeah. Let me shower and change and I'll be there." Naruto said, starting to walk to the bathroom.

"I talked to Sakura." the other man said quietly, hands still in his pockets, and he was looking at the floor.

Naruto stopped walking, but didn't turn around. Just hearing her name made him cringe at his earlier behaviour, and the last thing he needed was his ever observant friend to notice. "Oh really?"

"Yeah. We're good now." Sasuke said. "No hard feelings. We're friends."

"That's good, Teme. Glad you decided to step up and be an adult."

"Tch. Dobe."

"Anyways, get out of my house, bitch. I'll see you at Kiba's."

"Whatever you say, moron."

Sasuke walked out of the apartment door himself, and Naruto made his way back to his bathroom to try to take a real shower. The incident with the pickle juice and the visit from Sasuke helped calm things down, and the guilt he felt for the dirty thoughts about his best friend made him wince. How could he think about Sakura like that? Especially after what she had been through with Sasuke? He needed to get a hold of himself. He loved Sakura deeply, and couldn't bear watching her get torn up over something like that again. He couldn't face the rejection if she didn't want him, and if she did and it didn't work out, he didn't want to ruin what they had between them and risk losing her permanently.

Even though Naruto scolded himself and vowed he would stop thinking the way he had been, he was ashamed to admit that halfway through the shower, he had to turn it back onto cold again.

Kami, he was a piece of work.

 **A/N:**

 **Reviews help give me motivation to write faster!**

 **Thanks for reading, y'all. Means a lot.**

 **~Dayonight7**


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